PPP to launch massive investigation into alleged Gov’t corruption

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has announced plans to investigate a slew of allegations of corruption which it says involves Government ministers and other public officials.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo announced at a news conference Wednesday that the PPP intends to solicit the help of the Police and the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) to investigate the allegations of corruption but it intends to gather its own evidence before it approaches these agencies.

Jagdeo said the intention is to have the matters taken to court as he announced plans to refile private criminal charges which the Party had previously brought against senior Government Ministers.

Jagdeo said the investigations will take place after the Local Government Elections, pointing out that the resource-limited PPP will be assisted by scores of volunteers from across the private and public sectors.

The alleged corruption Jagdeo refers to include the acquisition of prime mining lands by Government ministers, ministers being beneficial owners in new private security firms, rental of buildings by the Government and the use of force accounts to siphon off state funds.

“Lots of Ministers acquiring mining lands in many parts of the country… some of them are knocking off small people to get prime areas and we plan to investigate that thoroughly,” the Opposition Leader alleged.

Jagdeo said there were alleged systematic tampering with the Procurement Act to allow for family members of Ministers to benefit from large contracts and the use of public funds for personal things.

“In DPI, in Nagamotoo’s Ministry almost every single place there are running private affairs using Government resources…we plan to come back to these issues when we complete local government elections,” Jagdeo said.

He further noted that the PPP intends to follow through with reports to the police and the filing of private criminal charges.

He reminded that so far, the PPP has referred the one matter to the police and also plans to ask the police to also investigate the Durban Park Project in keeping with the findings in the Auditor General’s report.